Shooting Their Mouths Off.

Dave Killion — January 31, 2011

Although events in Egypt have replaced the recent shooting of a US politician in Arizona as the hottest news topic, gun control plays an important role in both cases. No one will be surprised to know that gun control laws are very strict in Egypt, and as a result the government has acted with impunity for decades. Deprived of the means to more effectively counterbalance the force of government violence, Egyptians are unjustly impoverished and oppressed.

The Arizona shooting has also spurred discussion about gun control, and in this audio clip US gun law expert Alan Korwin is interviewed by CBC journalist Carol Off .

The interview goes from about the 3:00 mark to the 11:00 mark, and although Korwin struck me as too aggressive for his own good, his response is generally sound. I was particularly interested when, at around the 9:30 mark, Off makes her second reference to citizens having shoot outs. In response, I want to point out that so long as people don’t violate the natural rights of others, they have a right to live their lives as they see fit. If a law-abiding citizen wants to acquire a firearm through honest means, they cannot be prevented from doing so without violating their rights, and people should be way less cavalier about such violations than they are.

More to the point, shootouts between law-abiding citizens occur only in the imaginations of those who don’t know any better. In no instance where citizens have stopped a mass killing has a legal firearms owner hurt an innocent bystander, even when multiple citizens were carrying guns. Even in US states where firearms regulation is very light, those who choose to carry have proven to be particularly responsible citizens. and their communities are better for it. But don’t expect to hear that from the CBC.

Comments

CodeSlinger says

Dave:

In 1982, the town of Kennesaw, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, was faced with rising crime. So they passed a gun law. Section 34-21(a) of the Kennesaw Municipal Code reads

“In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore.”

That’s right, gun ownership is mandatory in Kennesaw.

The media, of course, predicted mayhem and bloodshed, painting a picture in which routine disagreements between neighbours would be settled by shootouts.

So… what actually happened?

Let’s compare the crime rates for Kennesaw with the crime rates for Atlanta as a whole.

Violent crime:

Atlanta: 19 / 1000
Kennesaw: 1 / 1000

Property Crime:

Atlanta: 86 / 1000
Kennesaw: 30 / 1000

In round numbers, there are 3 times fewer property crimes and 20 times fewer violent crimes.